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Turkish defense firm Roketsan General Manager Murat Ikinci said the company plans to expand its family of supersonic missiles following the successful test of the UAV-300 aeroballistic missile fired from the Bayraktar Akinci unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV).
"The significance of the UAV-300 for us is that it's an air-to-surface supersonic ballistic missile that allows both our UCAVs and fighter jets to engage targets at much greater distances.
We want to expand this family," Ikinci told Anadolu Agency (AA) in Aksaray, where he attended the Rocket Competition organized by Roketsan as part of Teknofest.
Ikinci said the recent test, in which the UAV-300 struck a maritime target more than 250 kilometers away, represented an important achievement.
"With this launch, the UAV-300 successfully hit a target over 250 kilometers away. The significance of the UAV-300 for us is that it's an air-to-surface supersonic ballistic missile that allows both our UCAVs and fighter jets to engage targets at much greater distances," the Roketsan CEO stated.
"We want to expand this family. Our '122' and '230' missiles are already achieving very successful results in the inventory. With the UAV-300, we've now taken that a step further," he added.
"Our UCAVs can now engage targets beyond 300 kilometers, and our fighter jets beyond 500 kilometers. We are working to expand and grow this capability even further. We believe this area will provide a very serious advantage in helping our UCAVs and fighter jets gain strike superiority," Ikinci noted.
The UAV-300 was fired from the Bayraktar Akinci UCAV on Sept. 11 as part of a test that began at the Corlu Flight Training and Test Center in Tekirdag, with the aircraft transiting to a test area over the Black Sea.
In the test, conducted off the coast of Sinop, the UAV-300 munition scored a direct hit on a maritime target. The UAV-122 and UAV-230 supersonic missiles had previously been successfully integrated into the Akinci.
Ikinci said testing continues on Tayfun Block-4, a hypersonic ballistic missile designed to strengthen Türkiye's defense capabilities at the regional and global level.
"All work on Tayfun Block-4 is continuing according to plan. Allah willing, we will reach a point very soon where we bring it into the inventory. Testing is ongoing. Allah willing, serial production will begin very soon after those tests," Ikinci said.
In a separate interview with TRT Haber at the Teknofest Rocket Competition, Ikinci said Gezgin, developed by Türkiye's Scientific and Technological Research Council (TUBITAK SAGE), is approaching serial production, with Roketsan having completed the necessary preparations at its facilities.
He said the program follows the same development-production model used for the in-service SOM family of air-launched cruise missiles.
Gezgin is a long-range, multi-platform cruise missile expected to focus primarily on land-attack missions.
The missile is planned for integration across multiple platforms, including ships via the strike-length National Vertical Launch System (MIDLAS), submarines via torpedo tubes and the strategic MIDLAS variant, and fighter jets, with the F-16 Ozgur upgrade program including provisions for an air-launched version of Gezgin.
Integration on land-based platforms is also possible.
Exact specifications for Gezgin have not been disclosed, reflecting its position at the strategic end of Türkiye's future missile inventory, similar to the limited public information available on the CENK ballistic missile.
The system is expected to be roughly comparable to the US BGM-109 Tomahawk and the French-British MdCN cruise missiles.
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